To Be With You
by M. Joseph Day
Summary: George is tired of being friendless. Alex is tired of being looked at as a jerk and nothing more. Together, they solve each other's problems. Glex Slash!


**To Be With You**

Alex Karev turned over in his bed. It was cold in his apartment. Always cold. He didn't like the cold, so he pulled his fleece blanket closer. He eventually couldn't take it anymore, got dressed, and grabbed his car keys. He headed straight for Joe's. When Alex arrived, he asked Joe for a beer. Joe handed him a beer. He sipped it for a while, all alone along the bar.

Alex looked up when George O'Malley sat down beside him. George smiled at Alex. "Hey, Alex."

Alex nodded. "O'Malley. Why are you here?"

George shrugged. "I'm just...tired, you know? Tired of everything with everyone else. Tired of being alone."

"I know the feeling. Everyone sees me as a jerk and nothing else," agreed Alex. He took a sip of his beer. George did the same.

George sighed. "If you didn't act like such a jerk, people would see you as something else."

Alex arched his back, staring at George in disbelief.

"What? I have a point. You have to admit that I have a point," George rambled.

"Fine. You have a point," Alex agreed, taking a drink of his beer.

George nodded. "I know people still care about me, but I'm not sure they care just enough, you know? I mean, they don't care like they used to. I don't even want to face anyone anymore."

"Me neither. You're alright, George," said Alex.

"George? You never call me George," said George.

Alex shrugged. "Well, you're getting cooler, and you're not whining as much. I like it, so I'm calling you George instead of Bambi or O'Malley. That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Thank you Alex." George smiled at Alex.

"You're welcome," said Alex. He quickly added, "George."

"This is gonna sound stupid," George started, "but can I stay with you?"

"Stay with me?" asked Alex. "Like, in my house?"

"Yeah. I just can't take all the love over at my place. I mean, it's too homey there. Too friendly, when I have no more friends," George explained.

"I guess you can stay with me. You just have to be out by Tuesday," Alex commented.

"Why Tuesday?" George asked.

"Because I like the sound of Tuesday," snapped Alex.

An hour later, Alex walked into his apartment, carrying a passed-out George. George had drank too much. Alex set George down on his couch and went to bed, changing into only pajama pants.

George woke up, noticing he was in Alex Karev's apartment. He sat up. George grabbed hold of his aching head. He had a hangover. Great. George glanced at the wall clock. It was noon. He stood up immediately. "Crap!"

Alex came into the living room in only his pajama pants. "Calm down George. Sit back down. Alcohol doesn't like you."

George sat back down on the couch. "We're really late for work, Alex."

"We're not going to work," Alex replied. "I told the chief we were both sick."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because you have a hangover, and I need a day off," Alex said. He sat down beside George and turned on the television. "Go get yourself some aspirin. You look like crap."

"Thanks." George faked a smile and went into the bathroom. He took a few aspirin and walked back into the living room. Alex was eating Doritos from a bowl. George sat down again. "Are you gonna get dressed?"

Alex shook his head. "What's the point?"

"Um, it makes me a little uncomfortable," said George.

"Why? Feel free to look, just don't touch," smiled Alex.

"Alex, I'm not gay."

"I know. I was just kidding." Alex held the bowl out to George. George took some of the chips, munching on them. Alex set the bowl back down on the table. They sat there, watching the news.

When the news was over, Alex stood up and stretched. "Do you want the shower first?"

George shook his head. "Go ahead."

"Okay." Alex walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. George heard the shower start.

About twenty minutes later, George heard the door open. He looked back. Alex was in a towel, brushing his teeth.

"Seriously Alex?"

"What?" asked Alex. "Shut up. I'm used to being alone."

"Whatever," said George.

Alex stopped brushing his teeth, rinsing his toothbrush off and putting it back in the cup to the side of the sink. "Don't look, okay?"

"I'd be happy not to look," George commented. Alex took his towel off and put on new clothes, not bothering to close the door.

Alex walked back into the living room. He stepped in front of the TV, ungluing George's eyes. "Do you want to put on some of my clothes?"

"No. I'll be fine," said George, looking up at Alex.

"Bullshit," said Alex. He walked into his room, grabbed a random outfit. He walked back into the living room and threw the outfit at George. "Get in the shower."

"Fine." George grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom. Alex heard the shower start. He heard it stop thirty minutes later. George opened the door. He walked out into the living room in a towel.

"I left my--well, you're boxers-- out here," said George. He saw the boxers laying on the floor in front of the coffee table and bent over to pick them up. The towel suddenly fell off. George didn't realize it, standing back up.

Alex closed his eyes. "Jesus, George! Put the boxers on! Put them on!"

George quickly slipped on the boxers. "Sorry, Alex. I seriously didn't realize--"

Alex opened his eyes. "It's okay. Just surprised me a little bit. Oh God."

Alex rubbed his eyes, laughing. George went into the bathroom and finished dressing. He walked back into the living room. The jeans and the sleeves on the sweater were a little too long, but George didn't care. He sat down beside Alex again. Alex grabbed the remote and started channel-surfing. "Nothing's on. I'll go rent a movie. What do you wanna see?"

"It doesn't matter. Pick what you want," George said. Alex nodded and left.

Twenty minutes later, Alex came back into the apartment with a couple of DVD's. He set them on the table. George picked them up. "The Wedding Planner and The Ugly Truth? Romances? Seriously?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "Why not?"

"Like I said, they're romances," repeated George.

"J Lo and Katherine Heigl are smoking hot," said Alex, smiling to himself. "That's the only reason I got them."

"Oh," said George, knowing full well that Alex was lying.

Four hours later, after both movies had ended, George looked up at the clock. "It's almost six thirty. Time for dinner."

Alex stood up and stretched. "Cool. Come on."

George followed Alex into the kitchen. Alex reached into his freezer and grabbed out two TV dinners. He handed George one. George made a face, but popped it into the microwave. He and Alex ate dinner together, sitting on the couch and watching TV. They watched TV all evening, until it was eleven o'clock. Alex stood up, stretching. "I'm gonna head to bed, George. Are you gonna be okay out here?"

"Yeah." George yawned. "Yeah, I'll be good."

Alex woke George up three hours later. "Sorry, but I can't sleep. I need entertainment. You wanna go for a walk?"

George blinked the tired out of his eyes. "Where would we walk at?"

Alex shrugged. "We'll drive out to the woods."

George sighed. "Fine. We can walk."

Thirty minutes later, Alex and George stopped Alex's car beside the dark forest. They got out and started walking randomly.

"Do you think I'm a likeable guy, George?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Now that I know you better," George smiled. Alex smiled back. George sighed, his breath visible in the chilled air. "We shouldn't walk for too long. We have to be at work by seven."

"We're not going to work. We have the flu now," said Alex. He smiled brighter. George smiled back impossibly brighter than Alex.

They were back at Alex's apartment at five a.m. George hugged himself. "It's so cold in here."

"It's slightly warmer in my bedroom," said Alex. "You can sleep in here if you want."

"Are you inviting me to bed?" George asked, smiling.

Alex smiled nervously. "It's--it's not like that."

"Mm-hm," said George. He smiled brighter and started walking toward Alex's bedroom. He laid down on Alex's bed and covered himself with the fleece blanket. "It's about two degrees warmer."

"I know, but it helps if you have extra body heat," Alex commented. He balanced himself on the mattress with his knees. He then came to lay down beside George. For some reason, George felt his heart beat faster and butterflies in his stomach flutter. He breathed heavier, trying to calm down, but he couldn't. George became nervous, his face getting red and warm. Alex noticed the discoloration. "Are you okay, George?"

George swallowed, his mouth dry. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Good." Alex scooted closer to George. He took his shirt off and pressed his chest against George's back. He wrapped his arm around George. George was instantly warmed up. He turned to look at Alex, putting his head on Alex's chest. Alex smiled. So did George.

"Good night," George said.

"Good night," Alex replied.

George woke up as the sun shined through the window. He felt something press against his leg. He instantly knew what it was. Alex had not left George. He was still there, holding George tight. George watched Alex sleep, smiling. He must have breathed too heavily, because Alex opened his eyes.

Alex smiled at George, then noticed his "situation". "Oh crap. Sorry, George. I don't know why--"

"It's okay," smiled George. He got impossibly closer to Alex and pressed his lips against Alex's. Alex didn't seem surprised at all. He went deeper into the kiss. George realized he needed air and pulled away. He smiled at Alex. Alex smiled back.

Minutes later, Alex made eggs and bacon for breakfast. George sat in the living room. The television was on, showing the news. Alex put George's plate on the coffee table and sat down on the couch with his own plate.

George took a bite of egg. He chewed and swallowed, and then said, "It's Tuesday."

Alex laughed after swallowing his bacon. "You don't have to be out today. Not anymore, babe."

"Babe?" George asked.

"Can I call you that?" Alex asked.

"Yes you can," said George. He ate a piece of bacon. "Can I tell Izzie?"

"Tell Izzie what?"

"About us," George said plainly.

"Us?" asked Alex.

George was confused. "There is an 'us', isn't there?"

Alex smiled. "Yeah. Tell her if you want to, babe."

"I do want to," said George. He kissed Alex impossibly deeper than before.

A while later, Alex asked "Do you wanna be sick tomorrow?"

"No," said George. "I want to see Izzie and Meredith, and I want to save people."

"Good. I want to go to work too. If you didn't want to, I was going to call the Chief and tell him we had swine flu."

George and Alex laughed together again. They kissed.

That night, George and Alex fell asleep just as they had the night before. Alex was the first to wake up this time. He watched George sleep for a while, then woke him up with a kiss.

George opened his eyes and smiled at Alex. "Good morning, babe."

"Good morning," Alex smiled.

George stretched. "What time is it?"

"Six a.m.," Alex said. "Are you sure you wanna go to work today?"

George smiled. "I'm sure."

Alex kissed George. A moment passed, then Alex asked. "Do you wanna get in the shower?"

"Like, together?" George asked, smiling.

"Why not? I've already seen you naked." Alex smiled.

George smiled brighter. "Okay."

Thirty minutes, George and Alex walked out of the bathroom. They were already dressed. George sighed angrily. "My backpack's at home."

"We can swing by and get it if you want," Alex said.

"No, I'll be fine." George smiled. "Let's go."

At seven o'clock, George and Alex arrived at Seattle Grace Hospital. They were a little late, so no one else was in the parking lot.

George and Alex walked into the locker room together. It took all their power to not kiss each other before they separated. Izzie looked up as George opened his locker. "Hey, George. Where've you been?"

"I stayed at a hotel. I just…needed to be alone," George said.

"So that excused you from work?" Izzie asked.

"He got sick. He came over to my apartment so I could help him out. We eventually both got sick, so we didn't come to work," Alex explained.

Izzie tied her tennis shoes. She laughed. "Did you spoon?"

Alex gave George a look that said "tell her now". George nodded. "Where are Meredith and Cristina?"

"Cristina was on call last night, and Meredith was called in early. Derek wanted her for some early-morning surgery," Izzie answered. She finished tying her shoes and stood up. Both Alex and George were looking at her. She looked from one to the other. "What? Do I have something in my teeth?"

George laughed nervously. "No, um, can I tell you something?"

"What is it?" Izzie asked.

"It might shock you a bit," George warned.

"Nothing shocks me anymore," Izzie said.

George took in a deep breath. "Alex and I are dating."

Izzie didn't say anything. She stopped moving, staring forward. She shook her head, snapping out of it. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," George said.

There was a moment of silence, and then Izzie said, "Are you joking? Prove it."

Alex looked at George and shrugged. He wrapped his arms around George and pulled him forward. He kissed George deeper than ever before. George felt weightless. He felt like he had to hold onto Alex tighter to keep from floating away, and that's just what he did. Alex soon pulled away, but he still held onto George. They both looked at Izzie. Izzie smiled. "I didn't see that coming."

"No one would," Alex said.

Izzie walked toward the door, but stopped there. "Can I tell anyone?"

"No!" George yelled. Izzie left the locker room, laughing.

"Are you ashamed of people knowing?" Alex asked George.

"I really don't know if people know. I just don't want them to find out through the rumor mill," said George.

Alex thought for a minute. "I have an idea. Meet me for lunch, okay?"

George looked confused. "Okay."

At lunch, George sat down beside Alex. Alex stood up, pulling George up by the hand. Alex looked at Izzie. Izzie stood up on her chair. She whistled loudly. "Excuse me! Alex has an announcement to make!"

George still looked confused. Alex put both hands on George's hips and pulled him forward. He and George pressed their foreheads together. Alex didn't hold back at all this time. He gave George full tongue action. When he felt that his point was made, Alex pulled his face away from George's, but still held onto his hips. A wave of mumbling and laughter swept across the cafeteria. Alex didn't care. He looked at George, smiling. George smiled back at Alex. They kissed again.

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Get a room."

Alex looked at Cristina, smiling. "Why should we get a room when we have a whole hospital?"

Cristina rolled her eyes again. Meredith and Izzie just smiled.


End file.
